Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Frog he Would a Wooing Go / Kitty Alone / Mr. Frog / The Frog's Wedding / The Wedding of Frog and Mouse / Frog Went A-Courting (Roud No. 16) / The House that Jack Built (Roud No. 20584) / The Wind in the Sky / I'll Tell Me Ma / The Belle of Belfast City (Roud No. 2649) - Sung by Duncan Williamson (1928-2007), a Traveller of Furnace, Argyllshire, Scotland, later settled in Fife. Filmed and recorded by David Kotyk as part of the John D. Niles folklore research team for the "Scottish Voices" project at a rented house in Auchtermuchty in August 1986.
00:00:00 Sings The Mouse's Wedding to the Frog
00:03:08 Sings The House that Jack Built
00:05:54 Sings The Wind in the Sky
00:06:52 Video Ends
The original movie can be watched here:
https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A3QUNVLUHBNVD38A
A biography of Duncan Williamson can be read here:
tobarandualchais.co.uk/person/4292?l=en
Linda Williamson's thesis on Scottish Traveller singing can be read here, it's well worth your time if you're interested in Duncan Williamson's song repertoire: era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/8223
I used my knowledge on video editing to share the films on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with the University of Wisconsin which houses the John D. Niles Collection.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover these videos of Scotland's great tradition bearers in the John D. Niles Collection. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
The videos give us an impression of what Duncan Williamson was like as a person and they show us how he performed his songs and stories to an audience. The visual aspect of performance is completely missed when we listen to sound recordings.
My main interest are the songs and ballads from Traveller tradition which Duncan kept alive. His interest in folklore led him to seek out other Traveller singers and storytellers and learn songs and stories from them, many of which were on the verge of being lost forever. In a way Duncan was a folklore collector himself.
Song transcription:
A froggie would a-wooing ride
A froggie would a-wooing ride
With sword and buckle by his side,
Oh ho.
Oh first he came to a mouse's den
Oh-ho, ho
First he came to a mouse's den
He said, "Miss Mouse, would you let me in?"
Oh ho.
So he took Miss Mousie on his knee
Oh-ho, ho
He took Miss Mousie on his knee,
He said, "Miss Mouse, will you marry me?"
Oh ho.
She said, "Where will the marriage service be?"
Oh-ho, ho
"Where will the marriage service be?"
"Down at the hollow by the old oak tree,"
Oh ho.
She said, "What will the marriage supper be?"
Oh-ho, ho
"What will the marriage supper be?"
"A slice of cake and a cup o tea,"
Oh ho.
Then the first to come in was Mrs. Moth,
Oh-ho, ho
The first to come in was Mrs. Moth,
She come to lay the tablecloth,
Oh-ho, ho.
Then the next came in was Major Dick,
Oh-ho
[Spoken aside: Major Dick was a grasshopper.]
The next came in was Major Dick,
He et so much that he fell sick,
Oh-ho, ho.
So they had to send for Doctor Fly,
Oh ho
They had to send for Doctor Fly,
For fear that Major Dick would die,
Oh ho.
The next came in was a squirrel with a curly tail, tail,
The next came in was a squirrel with a curly tail,
He tore his head on a rusty nail,
Oh-ho, ho.
Next came in was a big big black brown snake,
Oh, next came in was a big brown snake,
He coiled himself roond the wedding cake,
Oh-ho, ho.
So they all went sailing down tae the lake,
Oh-ho, ho
They all went sailing tae down the lake,
They were gobbled up by a big fat drake,
Oh-ho, ho.
Frog he Would a Wooing Go / Kitty Alone / Mr. Frog / The Frog's Wedding / The Wedding of Frog and Mouse / Frog Went A-Courting (Roud No. 16) / The House that Jack Built (Roud No. 20584) / The Wind in the Sky / I'll Tell Me Ma / The Belle of Belfast City (Roud No. 2649) - Sung by Duncan Williamson (1928-2007), a Traveller of Furnace, Argyllshire, Scotland, later settled in Fife. Filmed and recorded by David Kotyk as part of the John D. Niles folklore research team for the "Scottish Voices" project at a rented house in Auchtermuchty in August 1986.
00:00:00 Sings The Mouse's Wedding to the Frog
00:03:08 Sings The House that Jack Built
00:05:54 Sings The Wind in the Sky
00:06:52 Video Ends
The original movie can be watched here:
https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A3QUNVLUHBNVD38A
A biography of Duncan Williamson can be read here:
tobarandualchais.co.uk/person/4292?l=en
Linda Williamson's thesis on Scottish Traveller singing can be read here, it's well worth your time if you're interested in Duncan Williamson's song repertoire: era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/8223
I used my knowledge on video editing to share the films on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with the University of Wisconsin which houses the John D. Niles Collection.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover these videos of Scotland's great tradition bearers in the John D. Niles Collection. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
The videos give us an impression of what Duncan Williamson was like as a person and they show us how he performed his songs and stories to an audience. The visual aspect of performance is completely missed when we listen to sound recordings.
My main interest are the songs and ballads from Traveller tradition which Duncan kept alive. His interest in folklore led him to seek out other Traveller singers and storytellers and learn songs and stories from them, many of which were on the verge of being lost forever. In a way Duncan was a folklore collector himself.
Song transcription:
A froggie would a-wooing ride
A froggie would a-wooing ride
With sword and buckle by his side,
Oh ho.
Oh first he came to a mouse's den
Oh-ho, ho
First he came to a mouse's den
He said, "Miss Mouse, would you let me in?"
Oh ho.
So he took Miss Mousie on his knee
Oh-ho, ho
He took Miss Mousie on his knee,
He said, "Miss Mouse, will you marry me?"
Oh ho.
She said, "Where will the marriage service be?"
Oh-ho, ho
"Where will the marriage service be?"
"Down at the hollow by the old oak tree,"
Oh ho.
She said, "What will the marriage supper be?"
Oh-ho, ho
"What will the marriage supper be?"
"A slice of cake and a cup o tea,"
Oh ho.
Then the first to come in was Mrs. Moth,
Oh-ho, ho
The first to come in was Mrs. Moth,
She come to lay the tablecloth,
Oh-ho, ho.
Then the next came in was Major Dick,
Oh-ho
[Spoken aside: Major Dick was a grasshopper.]
The next came in was Major Dick,
He et so much that he fell sick,
Oh-ho, ho.
So they had to send for Doctor Fly,
Oh ho
They had to send for Doctor Fly,
For fear that Major Dick would die,
Oh ho.
The next came in was a squirrel with a curly tail, tail,
The next came in was a squirrel with a curly tail,
He tore his head on a rusty nail,
Oh-ho, ho.
Next came in was a big big black brown snake,
Oh, next came in was a big brown snake,
He coiled himself roond the wedding cake,
Oh-ho, ho.
So they all went sailing down tae the lake,
Oh-ho, ho
They all went sailing tae down the lake,
They were gobbled up by a big fat drake,
Oh-ho, ho.
